vibrating eyes

[Hdim21]

in on a hunt to figure out how i can vibrate my eyes i can voluntarily do this but it is weaker in early morning and late night i think it might be nystagmus but i have seen voluntary nystagmus and it is a lot slower than mine i really wanna know whats going on

[CBIsraeloffOD]

It is hard to determine without seeing you but it does sound like nystagmus. You should be evaluated by a neuro-ophthalmologist.

[achillea]

You want to 'vibrate' your eyes?  Why?

[Hdim21]

it freaks people out and its funny to see their reactions

[achillea]

Oh, I see:  you're sixteen?  That's a little old for this kind of thing.  Trust me, by the time you're eighteen, you will have outgrown your interest in this activity.

I hope.

[SoftwareDeveloper]

She didn't post about a medical concern. She is trying to  *voluntarily*   vibrate her eyes. Voluntary nystagmus has been documented, and although she claims it doesn't describe what she is doing,  as far as I'm aware there seems  no reason to think the kid's claim to be able to voluntarily vibrate her  eyes in some way  indicates anything wrong with her (a juvenile sense of humor seeming unlikely to be a medical issue). Unfortunately the "doctor" who posted seemed to have missed that point and suggested:

"You should be evaluated by a neuro-ophthalmologist."

Perhaps there is something I'm missing and that some ability to "voluntarily" vibrate eyes does indicate a problem.. but I'm guessing not. I'm guessing the doctor  responded without actually bothering to read carefully the message she was responding to. If there were a real issue for concern, she failed to adequately point out the concern so people didn't merely think she hadn't paid much attention to the question. I'd suggest if a doctor is going to post as a doctor on this site (rather than anonymously) they need to only post when they take the time to actually carefully read the posts they are replying to, or carefully respond.

Obviously the response in this case was innocuous, it merely illustrates  carelessness a doctor shouldn't exhibit when posting under a profile indicating their  professional identity.  Non-doctors on this site may make such mistakes (or at least the audience should be prepared for that when getting amateur responses),  but those that explicitly offer themselves up to be doctors should be more careful when they post. (though of course everyone should be aware doctors are human and make mistakes and critically evaluate what they here even from doctors).

In this case the response is innocuous since I'm sure the kid  didn't see any reason to run off to a specialist. My comment is merely to suggest caution since  in other cases such carelessness  in posting may be lead to someone taking the response  more seriously when the poster claims to be a doctor.

[achillea]

Granted, thoughtful reading is terribly important, but truth to tell, when doctors with full, professional lives answer here at all, it is pretty much a blessing.

I am thinking of Dr. Hagan, who was so helpful and generous with his responses to my questions.

[SoftwareDeveloper]

I don't know if Dr. Hagan volunteered, or  if he was paid. There is at least one sharp  surgeon who posts here at times, doing so without seeking to promote his own practice but seemingly only doing so to be of help.

If a doctor posts anonymously, so no one knows they are a doctor, then a careless response while in a rush isn't an issue since people won't take it seriously. However CBIsrealoff identifies in her profile as a doctor and gives a website to promote herself.  I have no problem with that.. if she posts considered responses. Any   doctor who posts considered responses here is useful and should be applauded. Any doctor who posts careless responses anyplace shouldn't be applauded for being irresponsible. I figured this case was harmless and easy to spot, but I figured the issue was important since she might comment in the future on some case where she posts a careless response that isn't easy to spot.